The French goat industry in figures

The 4th largest goat herd in Europe

The total number of dairy goats in France is 940,000, or 11% of the European population. It is the 4th largest herd in Europe, after Greece, Spain and Italy.

The world's biggest producer of goat's milk and goat's cheeses

France is the no.1 producer of goat’s milk in Europe and even the world.  In 2005, it produced 550 million litres of milk.

	15 % of goat's cheese produced in France is fresh pure goat's cheese 80 % is matured pure goat's cheese 5 % is mixed milk cheese

France is the no.1 producer of goat's cheeses in the world.  Nearly 95,000 tonnes of goat's cheese were produced in 2005, of which:

80,000 tonnes came from cheese dairies and

15,000 tonnes were made on farms

France has around 6,300 goat's milk producers, of which :

45 % make cheese from their milk on the farm,
50 % deliver their milk as it is to a cheese dairy,
5 % do both.

The world's biggest consumer of goat's cheeses

Most of the goat's cheese produced in France is also consumed there:
Only around 12% is exported, mainly to countries in Northern Europe and America.

The French are real cheese lovers (they eat more cheese per person, at 23kg per year, than in any other European country), but are particularly fond of goat's cheeses.

80% of French households buy them!